THE UK: The number of people who have contracted Legionnaire's disease in the biggest outbreak in Britain for more than a decade has risen above 100. Nearly 900 have now been tested for the potentially fatal form of pneumonia, of whom 105 have been confirmed as having contracted the disease.
Yesterday 72 were still in hospital while 15 less-seriously ill patients were being treated at home by their GPs. A further 16 have been discharged from hospital. - (PA)
Czech cabinet wins confidence vote
PRAGUE - The new Czech centre-left cabinet won a confidence vote in the lower house of parliament yesterday for its agenda that focuses on the drive to join the EU and raising national debt to build a wide social network.
The coalition government led by Social Democrat Mr Vladimir Spidla won 101 votes in the 200-seat lower house, holding together its razor-thin majority won in a June election. - (Reuters)
Body of Daniel Pearl on its way home
KARACHI - The body of murdered US reporter Daniel Pearl was taken to the airport in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi to be flown back to the US early today.
Pearl's body will be leaving Pakistan more than six months after he first disappeared in Karachi while researching a story on Islamic militants against a backdrop of the September 11th attacks on the United States. - (Reuters)
Boesak seeks pardon from president
CAPE TOWN - Allan Boesak, the disgraced anti-apartheid fighter and cleric who was jailed for embezzling and stealing donor funds, has applied to President Thabo Mbeki for a pardon. "We have received his application for a presidential pardon and we are considering it. If he is pardoned for fraud and theft his criminal record will be expunged," a justice ministry spokesman said. - (AFP)
Further benefits from aspirin
WASHINGTON - Aspirin, already found to reduce the risk of heart disease and colon cancer, may also cut down on the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to researchers. Women who do not normally take aspirin may reduce their risk of the rare but highly deadly cancer by more than 40 per cent, a team at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health found. - (Reuters)
Air show crash blamed on pilots
LVIV - Ukraine has blamed two pilots for the world's worst air show disaster, saying their decision to ignore orders and execute a dangerous manoeuvre contributed to the deaths of 85 people last month.
The victims, many of them children, died when a Sukhoi Su-27 jet fighter clipped the ground during a low-level display and tore through the crowd, exploding in a ball of fire. - (Reuters)
Woman questioned on husband's death
WEST SUSSEX - A woman dubbed the Black Widow was last night being questioned about the death of her second husband eight years ago. An inquiry was launched in July 1994 when the body of Julian Webb was found at the home West Sussex he shared with his bigamist wife Ms Dena Thompson.
In 2000 Ms Thompson was cleared of attempting to murder her third husband, Mr Richard Thompson, whom she married while still married to Mr Webb. Mr Thompson claimed he was attacked by his wife with a baseball bat and knife during a sex game. - (PA)
Springsteen album at No 1 in US
LOS ANGELES Bruce Springsteen has reached the top of the US charts with his new sombre September 11th-influenced album, The Rising. It is the first all-new recording with his E Street Band since 1984. The critically hailed album sold about 525,000 copies in its first week, Springsteen's best album debut in a decade. The veteran rocker and his band are preparing to launch a world tour in his native New Jersey. - (Reuters)